Posts Tagged ‘Garage Door Safety Sensors for Plano, TX, Homes’

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Why are safety sensors required?

Many homeowners underestimate the power and weight of garage doors. Because the spring holds the majority of its weight, people tend to forget that a garage door is a very heavy and potentially dangerous piece of equipment. Even the most basic garage door could easily cause serious injury or death without proper precautions. Many children, pets, and unsuspecting adults have been seriously injured because of faulty or nonexistent garage door safety sensors. According to their website, between 1982 and 1992, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) received reports of 54 children between the ages of 2 and 14 who died or became seriously injured after becoming entrapped under doors with automatic garage door openers.

Who requires safety sensors?

Safety sensors are a relatively new requirement. Before 1982 there were virtually no requirements for garage door safety; however, after that time, some basic standards were put in place that only addressed a small amount of the safety issues. Over the years, garage door safety has become more and more of a priority. Safety sensors were made a requirement by the CPSC for all garage door openers manufactured on or after January 1, 1993. The entrapment protection requirements are part of a Congressional mandate in the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 1990. The CPSC recommends that consumers with automatic garage door openers test the openers according to the manufacturer’s recommendations, to make sure they have a reversing feature.

How do safety sensors work?

Garage door safety sensors are infrared safety beams (ISB’s) that use infrared light to detect any obstruction under your garage door. These sensors send a signal to your opener unit that something is in the way of the door. These little square boxes at the bottom of your garage door must be aligned in order for your door to close. Is nothing under your door but it is still reversing? Check to be sure that nothing is blocking the sensors, and try loosening the wing nuts to adjust them. Sweep the area around the sensors and make sure that nothing on the door or tracks might be obstructing the path of the beam. Both safety sensors should be lit up a solid color, not flickering or off. If both lights are lit up on either side, your opener might need to have its’ force settings or travel limits adjusted on the unit. This is something that a professional should perform. Routine maintenance can help prevent sensors from coming misaligned due to vibration and loose tracks or hardware on the garage door.

Do you have any questions about or problems with your sensors? As with all garage door/openers, we recommend service once a year. Schedule a tune-up today to ensure that your door and all safety features are working properly. Call our office at 972-422-1695.

Why won’t my garage door close?

It is very frustrating when you go to close your garage door and it starts to go down and comes right back up! The most common reason that this happens is because the safety beam sensors located at the bottom of your garage door. These sensors are very sensitive and if there is anything blocking the beam, such as a blade of grass or cob web, will cause the door not to go down. Also if the sensor is not lined up properly it will cause this as well.

How do I fix this problem?

It is actually very simple to fix this problem yourself without having to have one of our service technicians some out and fix it. There are a couple of ways for you to test or troubleshoot this problem. Sometimes it can be the wiring itself or a short in the wiring. You can inspect the wiring yourself with these simple steps:

Check for incorrect wiring between the sensors and the garage door opener.

Verify the wire connections are correct on the garage door opener. The solid white wires connect (insert) to the white terminal and the white and black wires connect to the grey terminal.

Note: The amber LED on the sending sensor will glow regardless of alignment or obstruction. If the green LED on the receiving sensor is off, dim, or flickering (and the invisible light beam path in not obstructed), alignment in required.

How to test the wiring?

There are also simple steps to test the safety sensor wires.

Remove the sensors from the brackets.

Remove the wires from the wire nuts or cut the sensor wires 12” from the sensors.

Strip both ends of wires from each sensor and twist like colored wires together. Proceed with both sensors to the garage door opener motor unit.

Remove existing wires from the white and grey terminals on the back of the operator.

Attach or insert white wires into the white terminal and black/white striped wires into the grey terminal.

Point the sensors at each other-if both sensor LED’s turn on, there is an issue with your wiring. Replace the wires between the opener and the sensors. If the LED’s DO NOT turn on, replace the sensors.

Note: If after replacing the sensors, the LED’s still do not light, it could be the circuit board or even a new opener.

If it is not fixed what do I do?

If after trying these steps and your sensors are still messing up there may be some bigger issues at hand. In that case you might want to give us a call and have a technician come out and give you a free estimate. Do note that if you cannot get your garage door to close because of the sensors, you can hold down the wall console button inside your garage and it should close all the way. That way you can get it closed if you are in a hurry and we can come out right away. Just give us a call at (972) 422-1695 to schedule your free estimate!

Testimonials

We’ve used Plano Overhead many times since the late 1990’s and have been pleased every time!

–Sally R., Plano, TX (September 23, 2016)

“Prompt, courteous, and took care of the job in a very professional manner. The enthusiasm to do the job right was refreshing to say the least.”

-Jared F., Richardson, TX (September 7, 1987)

“The customer service of this company is great. They go the extra mile to make things right. Use this company. They fix your problems correctly and have quick service too.

-Richard S., Dallas, TX (January 2, 2017)

“Plano Overhead quickly diagnosed my problem, made the necessary repairs, and adjusted the door for proper operation. All I can say is, again, thanks for the excellent service and very professional service personnel. The cost was very reasonable as well!